


My Cup of Tea

by lululawrence



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, American AU, Fluff, Ice Breakers, M/M, Meet-Cute, Nerd Harry, That's it, Trainer Harry, i feel like that deserves a trigger warning lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 06:27:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11753964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lululawrence/pseuds/lululawrence
Summary: In which Harry is the trainer for Louis' new hire class, and his quirks might be exactly what Louis needs to pay attention.





	My Cup of Tea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [letsjustsee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/letsjustsee/gifts).



> [Rachel](http://letsjustsee.tumblr.com)!!! Happy belated birthday, darling! I had an entirely different fic planned out and it started so well and then it got stuck and wasn't progressing, so unfortunately this is what you ended up with. I hope you still enjoy it and all the sugary fluff you can handle!
> 
> Biggest thanks to [Molly](http://becomeawendybird.tumblr.com) for her amazing and fast beta, as always! All remaining mistakes are my own. Obviously. lol
> 
> This fic was written as part of an ongoing challenge. We each select random numbers and are given a specific emotion from the book 1000 Feelings For Which There Are No Names. To read the other fics written in this challenge, [click here](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/ShortFic_Challenge_For_Which_There_Is_No_Name/works), or you can find the masterpost on tumblr [here](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/159679804243/1000-feelings-for-which-there-are-no-names-prompt).
> 
> My prompt was 18: The dread of icebreaker games. The title comes from the song Getting to Know You from the King and I for obvious reasons. This is a work of fiction, blah blah blah. Enjoy!

Louis was in hell.  Ice breaker hell.

Louis was currently sat with a group of five other new hires in a computer lab staring at the “Welcome to Home Bank!” projection on the wall while their trainer, Harry, tried to get them hyped about working a job literally none of them actually wanted but were still desperate enough to take.

“I’m telling you guys, quality control is exactly what we are trying to focus on right now, and you are one of our first lines of defense!”  A cheesy slide showing a cartoon fence came up and Harry giggled.  Shit.  He had dimples.  Louis was such a sucker for dimples.

Louis had to admit, at least the trainer was adorable, even if he was ridiculously nerdy.  He was wearing pleated khakis, an oxford shirt buttoned all the way up to his neck despite not wearing a tie, a sweater vest, and his glasses were even larger than the glasses worn by those hipsters Lottie always hung out with.  All of that could be seen as quirky, but Louis’ favorite part to focus on was Harry’s hair.

It was a curly mess just piled on top of his head, and Louis couldn’t tell if he’d just not gotten to it today or if he’d given up on trying to control it.  Either way, the curls went this way and that, and the fact he constantly swiped at it was something Louis wouldn’t mind watching all day.  Every time he brushed his hands through it, it became even more unruly, and Louis was quickly learning that if he focused on Harry instead of the material he was presenting, Louis might just survive this week long training.

“So, now we are going to play some get to know you games!”

Louis had been dreading this portion from the moment Harry mentioned it being first up on the agenda after his brief introduction of the bank, but now Louis really was tempted to make a break for the bathroom.

“I need all of you to draw one of the candies out of the jar.  There will be one left over, which I will take.  We’ll start by going around the room and telling everyone our names and a little about ourselves.  Then, each candy has a partial sentence which we will take turns reading to the group and then answering for ourselves.  Once we have done that, you will find your partner who has the same color candy and your goal is to come up with five things you have in common.  Okay?”

Harry brought the jar over to Louis first and smiled widely at him.  Louis really needed to stop getting distracted by his dimples or he’d not get anything out of this training course.  Louis reached in and pulled out...a blue sweetart.

“I love these candies because they are sweet and tart, plus their name is basically a pun.  So much goodness in one small wrapper!” Harry said with a snort.  God.  Louis would normally be all over making fun or someone for that kind of shit, but there was something about Harry that had him liking him even more and wanting to laugh along.  He hadn’t even said anything funny!

“Okay, let’s start over here on the left.  What’s your name?”

Louis looked up and realized Harry’s left was Louis’ right which meant of course they were starting with him.  “Oh, sorry.  Uhm, my name is Louis.  I’m from Pittsburgh, but moved here for school and just never really left.  I...have a dog?  I’m not really sure what more to say about myself.”

Harry nodded and then moved on to the next person, thankfully.  Part of the reason Louis hated this shit was because it was always so awkward.  No one ever knew what to say, and if they did that was probably cause for worry for an entire host of reasons.  Seriously, though, Louis was the kind of person who rarely had trouble coming up with topics of conversation and could make friends with pretty much anyone if he set his mind to it, but in this kind of forced setting it all felt fake and horrible and that was everything he wasn’t.

“Okay, great!  Now I’ll read my sentence first and then we will go in the opposite direction for all of you to read your sentences and filling in the blanks.  So mine is ‘The worst gift I ever received was…’” Harry paused for a second and really thought about it.  “The only thing I can really think of was when I was in high school, I hadn’t come out to my dad yet, so he thought he was doing me a favor and keeping up with what was hip by giving me a Britney Spears calendar for Christmas.  I liked her alright, but not for the reasons he thought I did and it made for a lot of horrible and awkward conversations.  So I’d definitely say that.  Okay, who’s next?”

Louis didn’t pay any attention to the rest of the people giving their answers, because while his eyes were following those talking, his brain was just a constant repeat of  _ Harry’s not straight! _ and  _ You have a chance! _ which was ridiculous, because just admitting you aren’t attracted to women didn’t mean Harry was interested in Louis.  

“Louis?  It’s your turn,” Harry gently prodded.  Damn, that doesn’t look good.

Louis straightened up in his chair and said a quick apology while he flipped his sweetart over to see what his read.  He probably should have looked at it before so he could think what his answer would be while everyone else was talking.  “The thing my parents thought I would grow out of, but I never did is…” Louis read clearly and paused.  Pretty much everything, if he was being honest.  Louis wasn’t immature, but he still found enjoyment in some things that his other friends had outgrown as they got older, like comic books or Disney movies.  “Probably having tea every night before bed.  My mom’s English, so she started me on tea when I was young and used to give it to me before bed on nights I had a hard time sleeping.  I still do it today.”

Louis looked up from where he’d been staring at his hands and found Harry looking at him still and...was that a fond smile?  No.  Louis was probably just making something up because he  _ wanted _ Harry to like him.  Right?

“Okay, Now it’s time to break into partners and find five things you have in common.  Remember, this isn’t a race, but I want you to actually find important things that you have in common with each other.  Not just that you both watch Catfish or something.”

Louis looked over at the other four to see who had the other blue sweetarts only to see they had green and purple and were already paired up.  That meant Harry must have the other blue.

“Sorry, you’re stuck with me,” Harry said as he pulled up a chair in front of Louis.  

“No, don’t be sorry.”  Louis really didn’t want Harry to apologize, because he was feeling genuinely excited for possibly the first time all day.  “So, Harry.  Where should we start.  Family, perhaps?”

Harry’s face brightened even further, if that was even possible.  His green eyes were such a light, clear green.  Louis was in awe.

“I’ve got one sister.  Older.  She’s one of my best friends.  My mom and stepdad also have several cats that may have started as mine, but they always liked my mom best.  How about you?”

Louis smiled fondly.  “Cats are incredible creatures.  You think you’re claiming them, but really it’s the other way around.  They definitely have final say as to who their family is.”

“They do!” Harry said with a small laugh.  “I do like to tease my sister, Gemma, that her cat Olivia likes me better than her.”

“Ooh, but is it true?” Louis asked, teasingly.

Harry blushed to match the red highlights in his sweater vest.  “No.  But I pretend like it is just to make her pout anyway.”

“Awful!  Well, we never had any pets.  My mom always joked that there were enough of us kids around to make up for it.  I have five younger sisters and a younger brother.  Two of us are out of the house now, though, and apparently that was all it took.  The kids wore her down and they got a puppy just a couple months ago.”

Harry’s eyes widened.  “That’s a big family!  I’ve always wanted a big family.  And a  _ puppy! _  Those are so much more work than a cat!”

“I know!  I tease her mercilessly every chance I have.  And I’ve always wanted a bit family too, so I guess that’s one thing in common.”

Harry smiled softly.  “Two, if you count the teasing of your family members over pets.”

“Ah, yes.  That is a very important thing to have in common,” Louis joked.

The time Harry had allotted for this exercise flew by, and before Louis was ready, Harry was ending the ice breaker portion of the morning.  The next hour and a half was spent making sure all their new hire paperwork was signed and personal information up to date in the system.  Louis was so bored he’d actually started dozing off with his eyes open.

“Okay, everyone.  Here’s your first fifteen minute break.  Go ahead and grab a snack, use the toilet, or go for a smoke, but be sure to be back in the room by 10:30.  Let me know if you need help finding anything.”

The room cleared out, and Louis was left just sitting there fiddling with his phone.  He really did want a smoke, but Harry wasn’t leaving the room, so he didn’t really care to either.  Louis watched as the slightly pigeon toed man stumbled around the room getting all the training books and other materials in place for the next few hours.

“You sure you don’t want to get up and walk around?” Harry asked, looking at Louis like he was concerned with his lack of movement.  Usually Louis would be too, he often had a really hard time staying still, but today seemed to be an exception.

“Nah.  I’m fine here.”

Harry blushed a little, which hopefully meant he understood what Louis was trying to subtly say.  

_ I’m fine here because you’re here. _

“You know, just across the parking lot is a really great pasta place.  If you’re interested in joining me.  They’ve got a far better selection than they have in either of the cafeterias downstairs.”

Louis’ smile grew larger the longer Harry stumbled on with his only slightly botched invitation.  “Is that you officially asking me?  Because I am interested if you don’t mind my presence.”

Harry bit his lip and blinked his wide green eyes.  He fiddled with his glasses a little and said, “Yeah.  I guess that’s me officially asking you.  And as your trainer, I’m not really your boss.  I’m just the person helping you get up to speed on the bank information before your specific department takes over your training, so there’s nothing against this fraternization either.”

Louis smirked and folded his arms.   _ This _ Louis was more comfortable with.  “Are you saying this is a date, Harry?”

Harry’s mouth gaped open.  “I...uhm...I mean, it doesn’t have to be?  I just thought...I meant...uhm…”

Louis sat up straight and reached out as if to touch, but realized they definitely weren’t familiar enough with each other for that yet, so he pulled his hand back after letting it hang there for a second.  “It’s okay, Harry.  I was just teasing you.  I would love to go on a lunch date with you.”

Harry beamed.  “Okay.  Great.”

A couple of the others came wandering back in, but Harry just kept smiling at Louis.  Not that Louis minded.  He’d be perfectly happy with Harry’s attention solely on him, and that was exactly what he’d get in just a couple more hours.  He could hardly wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this tiny little thing. If you did, please add to my lifesource by leaving kudos and a kind comment. Also, every time someone reblogs a [fic post](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/163984390648/my-cup-of-tea-by-lululawrence-for-letsjustsee-in), a fic writer gets their writer's block removed. ;)
> 
> Interested in helping support charities with fanfic? If you are, I could write a fic for you! Check out the info [here on Tumblr](https://1dfanworksforcharity.tumblr.com/post/174494969280/1d-fanworks-for-charity-auctions-for-lululawrence).


End file.
